Monroe County law enforcement, fire agencies team up to catch alleged car thieves

The Columbia Police Department arrested seven juveniles early Thursday morning on car theft, burglary and weapons charges.

The juveniles’ ages range from 10 to 17 years old.

Additional charges may be filed, according to the Columbia Police Department.

According to a release from the Columbia Police Department, Waterloo Police and Monroe County Sheriff’s Department were notified at approximately 2:55 a.m. of several individuals attempting to break into vehicles on Victor Street in Waterloo.

Once the sheriff’s deputies arrived, the suspects piled into two vehicles and fled northbound on Route 3.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department continued to pursue a stolen 2017 Volkswagen Passat and a 2019 Jeep Cherokee that police later discovered was stolen from the 500 block of South Ferkel in Columbia, police stated.

According to police, the Jeep stopped near Route 3 and Wedgewood. The Volkswagen crashed in a field near D Road and Bluff Road after Columbia police officers deployed spike strips at the intersection of Route 3 and Carl Street.

The occupants of both vehicles fled on foot.

The Columbia Police Department set up a perimeter at the crash locations, and the Columbia Volunteer Fire Department assisted the police department in locating the fleeing suspects by using a drone to scan the area.

According to the Columbia Police Department release, another key element that aided in the apprehension of the suspects was phone calls from concerned citizens to the Columbia Police Department’s dispatch center. Seven juveniles from St. Louis were eventually located and taken into custody within the next several hours.

The juveniles were driven to the Columbia Police Department for questioning then taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Belleville. A loaded .22 handgun was located on one of the juveniles and several 9mm bullets were found on another, police said.

In the release, the Columbia Police Department thanked the citizens who called the dispatch center with key information, along with several other law enforcement agencies for assisting with the apprehension of the suspects.